It's Tennis Time Again!

One of the things I really look forward to in June is tennis on television. So this morning I woke up made myself some oatmeal and turned on the TV to find the French Open in on NBC. Excellent! You may not know it fair readers, but I am a Tennis fan. I used to play a lot in high school, mostly with my brother, who is really good. He and I would go out and hit for hours. I was happy to win a game against him, but it is always fun to play. When I moved to Miami I lived down the street from some public clay courts. During that summer and fall I'd go to the courts two or three times a week and just play with whoever was around. Usually I lost pretty good, but by the time the fall rolled around I was much improved. I haven't played much recently, but after watching today I want to get back into it.

For the past few hours I've been watching an excellent match between Rafael Nadal and this French guy named Mathieu. For those of you not following professional tennis, Nadal is probably the number two player in the world right now. He won the French Open last year so he's the defending champion, and he's riding a 55 game winning streak on clay courts. They play the French open on red clay courts. Mathieu is veteran French player who's really playing in his heart out. Nadal usually blows everyone away on these courts. Mathieu is playing him shot for shot. This is one of those times when an athlete is playing his best game on the biggest stage of his life. I am rooting hard for Mathieu to pull it out.

Right now they are in the fourth set, and Nadal is really working to put it away. Mathieu won the first set 7-5, but Nadal has come back and won the next two 6-4, 6-4. It's been a really fun match to watch. The fourth set is tied at 4-4 right now with both men trying to outdo the other and win the set. Nadal can win the match with a win in this set, while Mathieu would tie the match and force a fifth set. Since Mathieu is French, and they're playing in Paris, the crowd is really into it. Also, I've noticed over the years that the French really know their tennis. So they know that they're watching an amazing match right now. Also, it's really unusual have such a high caliber match happen in the early rounds in the tournament. So this match is unique and exciting on many levels!

Oops! Nadal just finished off the match with a 6-4 win in the fourth set. His winning streak goes on the 56 undefeated matches on clay. Oh well, It would have been nice for a Frenchman to move up in the tournament, but Nadal was just too tough. Now they're showing another Frenchman Monfils playing an American, James Blake. Blake is the last American standing in the French Open. I wish him the best!